U.S. Class 8 retail sales jump 30% in September to 21,095 trucks

U.S. Class 8 retail sales jumped 30% year over year in September, while year-to-date sales remain down 5%, according to Transport Topics on Oct. 18, reporting Omdia Automotive data.

Omdia reported 21,095 units sold in September, up from 16,228 during the prior-year period and 13.6% above the 18,575 units reported in August. Sales for the year, however, have decreased 5% to 152,960 from 160,981 in 2025.

"We're encouraged," ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said. "Production has taken awhile to ramp, and if you don't build it, if you don't have it, you can't sell it. So the build numbers are getting to the point where we do actually have something to sell. But I think more importantly, September kind of represents the sprint to the year-end." Tam suspects the monthly figure was already coming in strong before seasonal factors — typically about a 10% gain from August — bolstered it further, and said he has been hearing indications that carriers had a generally positive third quarter. He pointed to the favorable depreciation scheme in play and Section 179 tax planning as the calendar gets thinner, and said his team has hypothesized that for-hire carrier profitability has been a main driver behind retail sales in 2026, with some activity from private fleets bringing more operations in-house.

All but one of the seven major truck manufacturers increased sales from the previous year. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, claimed the largest market share at 37.4% with 7,888 trucks sold, up 45.7% from 5,413. Volvo Trucks sales jumped 45% to 2,170 from 1,497, International sales increased 38.8% to 2,484 from 1,790, Peterbilt sales grew 25.2% to 3,097 from 2,473, Kenworth sales increased 19.7% to 3,055 from 2,552, and Mack Trucks sales rose 8.2% to 1,679 from 1,552. Western Star was the decliner, with sales down 25.5% to 706 from 948.

"The pace of retails continued to improve year over year in September, and the industry saw good improvement month over month," said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. "Strong freight rates and signs of improving freight demand are resulting in stronger fleet demand for new trucks." Volvo's Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy, marketing and brand management, said September has been its strongest month of the year and that the month reflects a market that is gradually strengthening.

In medium-duty, Class 6 was the only category with a year-over-year gain, up 28% to 6,611 units from 5,164, while Class 7 decreased 7.8% to 4,324, Class 5 declined 27% to 4,442 and Class 4 slipped 1.5% to 966.